LONG BEFORE "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE" had everyone wanting to mimic Bollywood dance steps, Sarina Jain was teaching them in health clubs. It's been a decade since she first launched Masala Bhangra, an Indian dance-inspired workout that meshes the movie moves with the folk style of Bhangra. Along the way, it manages to get your heart rate going and up your strength.
Although her regular lessons are taught only in New York, D.C. has been introduced to her program through classes at area Washington Sports Clubs. And this Friday, Masala Bhangra devotees can shake it with Jain herself at a master class at Georgetown (7-9 p.m., $20-35, Yates Field House, call 202-687-2400 to register). "We're going to have arms in the air moving and shoulders going up and down," she promises of the all-levels session. Also on tap: the butt-burning Bhangra squat.
"In my culture, we say, 'Balle, balle.' It means 'Woo!'" Jain says. Expect plenty of that, too.
Photo courtesy Jain
SHE TELLS PEOPLE that their first encounter was at a wine tasting, but the truth is Jen Schuett and Paul Vaca met at a Georgetown University event known as Security — "a nerdy game similar to Model U.N.," Jen says. "We were both on Team Poland. He likes to explain the details of the event and our team strategy when people ask how we met." Their first date: canvassing for Barack Obama on U Street.
Paul's proposal took an unexpected turn when Jen twisted her ankle 20 minutes before the romantic evening he'd planned was to begin. He switched gears and brought dinner, wine and champagne to Jen's place, "where I found her lying in bed, icing her foot with a bag of peas." And there he popped the question. "It wasn't what I had planned, but she said yes!"
Jen, 25, is a graduate student. Paul, 28, is a foreign service officer. They live in D.C. and will marry Nov. 21.
Written by Express contributor Rachel Kaufman
THURSDAY: The offerings of the DC Labor Film Festival span the gamut from modern classics ("Office Space") to '30s parables ("The Grapes of Wrath.")
It's not a cult classic — yet, yet — but you shouldn't miss "The Philosopher Kings," a documentary about university janitors that explores the nature of education and knowledge. The director and some of the stars will attend the free screenings.
» SEIU, 1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW; Thu., noon, free. (Dupont Circle)
»Georgetown ICC, 37th and O streets NW; Thu., 8 p.m., free.
Photo courtesy Transcendental Media
IT'S NOT THAT Carlos Robles Arenas dislikes rock music. He just thinks this globalizing world needs something fresher, that reflects its unique issues and intersections. Something like the stuff he's putting out with his Nantes, France-based electronic music outfit, Orange Blossom.
The group's sound is the product of the backgrounds, training and travel experiences of its members: Mexico native Robles Arenas, who programs, arranges and produces; French-raised, African-influenced percussionist Mathias Vaguenez; classically trained, contemporary-minded French violinist PJ Chabot; and singer Nawel Ben Kraiem, who claims Tunisian roots.
Orange Blossom's latest disc, 2005's "Everything Must Change," gives listeners an idea of what happens when these musical minds meet. Songs feature cultural collisions between driving electronic beats, serpentine Arabic vocals, West African drum rhythms, body-rocking funk, tweaky strings, the occasional accordion line, dub, opera and whatever else the group felt like experimenting with.
Continue Reading "Electro- Potluck: Orange Blossom Brings Variety" »
BEFORE HE MADE HIS WAY down Pennsylvania Avenue NW in his Popemobile this afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI must have received a lesson in D.C. driving.
He didn't slow down. He didn't stop unnecessarily. But he did wave politely. (That must be a new part of the training that most of us didn't get.)
I arrived at Pennsylvania Avenue and 22nd Street NW at about 10 minutes before noon, when the pope's motorcade was scheduled to leave the White House, where the pontiff had been meeting with President Bush, up Pennsylvania and toward Observatory Circle, where he's staying while he's in town.
It was warm and sunny, and crowds lined both sides of the wide boulevard, with police barricades and dozens of officers blocking them from touching the asphalt. Cops were also shooing onlookers off of railings, flowerbeds, stairs and other elevated viewing spots, perhaps out of an abundance of caution for the pope's safety.
The crowd ranged from infants to the elderly, but it was heavily peppered with students from nearby George Washington University. Among them were Kristin Karcsh, Lindsay Melvin, Laura Wunk and Taylor Donohue. They came out to pack in a few extra memories before three of them graduate later this year.
So, they came. They saw. And, yes, they bought the T-shirt. One for each of them, in fact — all emblazoned with the pope's picture and purchased from one of several street vendors prowling the crowd. (They said Karcsh was the first to cave.)
The shirts were going for $10 each. Another vendor I approached (he's pictured at right) was hawking Benedict buttons for $5 and pennants for $10. Pope prices ain't cheap.
Continue Reading "Faster Than a Speeding Popemobile: Benedict in D.C." »
IT COULD HAVE BEEN a nightmare scenario for the Georgetown Hoyas.
Senior Roy Hibbert, the 7-foot-2 center who the Hoyas' offense is built around, got himself into foul trouble early and finished with no points and four turnovers. Yet Georgetown adapted without its big man, making a Big East tournament record 17 3-pointers en route to a 82-63 victory over Villanova.
The next night in New York, Hibbert scored 25 points — one shy of his career high — and was the driving force behind a 72-55 win against West Virginia.
In those two games, the Hoyas demonstrated a versatility on offense that they will need as they make their way in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament beginning Friday against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers.
"I've said all along, we can play and have success different ways," said coach John Thompson III. "Yes, ... the big fella is the hub; he's the focal point. We have other guys that can step up and make plays."
IT'S NOT HOYA PARANOIA if they are really out to get you.
Such has been life for the No. 9 Georgetown Hoyas all year — and it turns out the team is just fine with that.
The preseason favorite to win the Big East took opponents' best shot yet survived to repeat as league champions, earning the top seed in this week's Big East tournament in the process.
And in New York, just as in the regular season, Georgetown will be the team to beat.
"A lot of people may not want a bull's-eye on their back," said Hoyas senior Jonathan Wallace. "We take pride in that. We accept that role."
When Wallace first came to Georgetown four years ago, Hoya paranoia had gone the way of Beta tapes — a bygone relic of the 1980s.
But under John Thompson III, the Hoyas have established themselves as the class of the Big East by thinking small and dreaming big.
Continue Reading "Sports Talk: Hoyas Are Hit With the Best Shots" »
ROY HIBBERT CAME BACK to Georgetown this season for this: one game, featuring two top-25 teams tied for first place and with the Big East championship at stake.
On a day when the senior class will be honored at Verizon Center, the 11th-ranked Hoyas (24-4, 14-3) won't have much time for nostalgia. Everything will be on the line against No. 12 Louisville (24-6, 14-3).
This group — which came into Georgetown with coach John Thompson III four years ago and helped revived the struggling program — will be trying to repeat as league champions for the first time since the 1996-97 seasons, an accomplishment not even achieved in Patrick Ewing Sr.'s four years. It's also only the second time that the two teams tied at the top of the Big East will play for the league title in the regular season finale.
"This is what you live for in college basketball," Hibbert said Thursday. "This is the way I want to go out my senior year."
Also playing in their final home games will be Jonathan Wallace, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Tyler Crawford. Though only Hibbert and Wallace are regulars in the starting lineup, Thompson said each played a role in rebuilding the team to the status it enjoyed during its glory days under John Thompson Jr.
MAYBE GEORGETOWN MADE THE RIGHT decision when it put crucifixes in all of its classrooms.
Some otherworldly force seems to be looking out for the school's men's basketball team this season.
This past weekend, senior guard Jonathan Wallace performed his own trinity of virtual miracles in the Hoyas' victory at Marquette.
First, he drew a foul while shooting a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left. Then the little general's final foul shot of regulation hit every part of the rim before falling into the basket. For his final act, Wallace banked a 3-pointer with a defender in his face to even the score in overtime.
These are not isolated incidents this year on the Hilltop.
THE GEORGETOWN HOYAS have been ranked in the top 20 each week this season. They have beaten 23 of 27 opponents with two regular season games remaining. And they held a half-game lead in the Big East heading into Thursday night's conference action.
That's who the team is.
But much of the talk, surrounding the No. 11 Hoyas has been about who they are not. Georgetown is not the same group as last year's team, led by Jeff Green, that was blowing out tough opponents at this time last season and eventually reached the Final Four.
There is no one person the Hoyas count on to score 20 points per game. Senior center Roy Hibbert leads the team with 13.4 points per game and just two others — Jonathan Wallace and DaJuan Summers, who tallied a game-high 21 points in Wednesday's win over St. John's — average in double figures in scoring.
Many of the team's wins have been ugly affairs, and four were decided by three points or fewer — all Hoyas victories.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. Just ask Georgetown's opponents about the team that will visit No. 21 Marquette (20-6, 11-5) Saturday.
"I think people have been unjustly saying negative things about their team — that they're maybe not living up to expectations; that they're not blowing people out," said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, whose team suffered a 73-53 defeat last weekend. "They play in the Big East, the deepest conference in college basketball history. You are not going to blow everybody out. ... It's amazing what expectations will do."
The Hoyas (23-4, 13-3) have not enjoyed many lopsided victories, and, without Green to take the final shot, they have relied on myriad players in key situations.
Addison Road